Whatcom Falls Neighborhood Association Meeting

The Whatcom Falls NeighborhoodAssociation (WFNA) is scheduled to have a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013.  The meeting will take place in the Moles Funeral Home meeting room from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

            The meeting will be completely devoted to a presentation by the City of Bellingham Public Works Department on the plans for water meter installation in the Whatcom Falls Neighborhood.

            Every address in the neighborhood received a notice by mail, informing them of the topic of the meeting. “Hopefully it will be well attended,” said Richard Sawyer, an alternate representative of the Mayor’s Neighborhood Association Commission for Whatcom Falls Neighborhood.

            The Public Works Department will be talking about how water meters will start to be installed in Whatcom Falls Neighborhood at the end of this year, and continue into 2014. This means that starting in January 2015, residents will no longer have a flat rate payment for their water bills. Instead, they will be paying for the amount of water they use.

            The WFNA meetings are on the second Tuesday of every month, and are open to the public. They alternate between general meetings and board meetings. There are no membership dues. 

Whatcom Creek Tested For Gas

The pumps that have been filtering Whatcom Creek for the past 14 years are currently off in order to test for any remnants of the 1999 pipeline rupture, which caused gasoline to enter Whatcom Creek.

On Oct. 16, 2013 pumps that had been extracting water from the creek and treating water were shutdown, allowing crews to monitor groundwater to see if any residual gas can be detected, according to the Department of Ecology Site Manager for the project, Eugene Freeman.

“Groundwater samples are collected from ten groundwater monitoring wells between the rupture location and the creek. Samples are also collected at seep locations near the creek,” Freeman said. Seeps are locations near the stream where groundwater flows out, she explained. Water samples are sent to a state certified laboratory for testing water quality.

If the samples show petroleum concentrations above safe drinking water levels, the pump system can be turned back on. “Further investigation of where gasoline contamination is located and additional cleanup options will be evaluated,” Freeman said, explaining the next step if the pumps need to be turned back on.

Since the gasoline concentration has been below the regulatory limits that are considered safe for drinking water for the last five years, the current plan is to leave the pump system in place, but turned off, for two years, according to Freeman. During this time, groundwater will be monitored and sampled. After the two years, if the groundwater has remained clean, Freeman said the pump system could likely be removed.

On June 10, 1999 an Olympic Pipe Line Co.’s 16-inch interstate fuel pipeline adjacent to the City of Bellingham Water Treatment Plant ruptured. Approximately 237,000 gallons of gasoline were released, said Freeman. Gasoline flowed into Hannah Creek, and then into Whatcom Creek, later catching fire. As a result, two 10-year-old boys and one 18-year-old man died, and portions of the gasoline became trapped in the soil, bedrock, and stream sediments, according to Freeman.

The fire damaged about 1.5 miles along Hannah and Whatcom creeks, which affected wildlife, trees, and habitats, according to a news release by the State of Washington Department of Ecology.

Cleanup from the accident included drilling 115 groundwater monitoring wells, creating a trench between the release site and creek to capture gasoline in the groundwater, installing a pump-and-treat system, and injecting solution to help get rid of the remaining gasoline, said Freeman. Cleanup and restoration of the site also involved excavating 7,200 cubic yards of soil contaminated with gasoline, and installing an aeration and soil vapor extraction system, according to Freeman.

Olympic Pipe Line paid for the environmental work, which also included planting more than 36,000 trees, and purchasing and additional 13.5 acres of land for Whatcom Falls Park.

The largest civil penalties ever imposed by the state of Washington were $5 million to Shell and $2.5 million to Olympic Pipe Line, as stated by the Department of Ecology.

As a result of the accident, improvements were made to pipeline safety which include: the establishment of the Citizens Committee on Pipeline Safety (CCOPS) which meets to discuss pipeline safety issues, development of pipeline maps, updating state planning rules for pipeline operations to be more strict, performing drills for spills in order to improve plans, and deployment of oil spill response equipment caches in certain locations, according to the Department of Ecology.

The Department of Ecology says further improvements can be made, which include: awareness and enforcement of the “Call Before You Dig” law, reexamining accuracy of pipeline locations, keeping an eye on and inspecting pipeline integrity, and checking up on operations to make sure they meet standards.

Effects of Galbraith Mountain

Galbraith Mountain, located just south of Bellingham, is popular among hikers and bikers, but only has one northern entrance point, lacks enough space for parking, and can be a source of disturbances for nearby residents.

            Although it is not in the Bellingham city limits, Galbraith Mountain attracts many Bellingham outdoor enthusiasts – mostly bikers – with its large network of trails. Access to Galbraith from the northern entrance is limited; Birch Street leads to a small parking lot that quickly fills up, especially on days with good weather according to biker Patrik Zuest.

            “Galbraith is pretty easy to access,” said Zuest, “Once you find a parking spot. Even today, when it isn’t such a great day, the parking lot is full.”

            According to the Whatcom Falls Neighborhood Plan, developed by the neighborhood association, residents would like to see more parking designated for Galbraith in order to reduce the amount of on-street parking and congestion on the nearby streets.

            The parking issue is still unresolved. “An idea is to place more signage in to direct bikers to park at Whatcom Falls Park,” said Moshe Quinn, city planner and resident of Whatcom Falls Neighborhood. The Whatcom Falls Park parking lot is about a mile from the Galbraith parking lot.

The neighborhood plan includes this idea as well, suggesting that signs should be installed at both the trailhead and park to direct bikers to use the parking lots.

            Barry Landu, an avid biker at Galbraith thought that this solution would be fine for bikers, but would add a considerable amount of extra walking for hikers. “We really shouldn’t park on the street. The streets are meant for residents and their guests, so I already do park at Whatcom Falls if [the Galbraith] lot is full,” he said.

            Bellingham's Greenway Coordinator Tim Wahl made the point that putting a sign at the Galbraith parking lot will still bring people up along Birch Street, not knowing that the lot is full. “Do small parking lots attract even more vehicles?” he asked, wondering if the signs would continue to bring just as many cars up the street. Wahl thinks placing a sign at the entrance to Birch Street may be more effective.

            The City of Bellingham’s Strategic Plan for Land Acquisition states that $1 million has been allocated for obtaining “forested open space and trail site” that will connect Galbraith and Whatcom Falls Park in multiple spots. The intent is to allow access from Lakeway Drive, Yew Street and Whatcom Falls Park to Galbraith. With more than one access point, traffic could decrease on Birch Street.

            At the northern entrance to Galbraith Mountain, a sign is posted that reads, “Please respect adjacent property.”

            Although Zuest has never personally experienced a complaint, he said, “People try and behave, but it wouldn’t surprise me if on a summer day, bikers get rowdy.”

            Quinn, who lives on Birch Falls Drive, said there is a lot of bike traffic, but he knew Galbraith was near his house when he moved in. He doesn’t have many complaints about the bikers except that a lot of them bring along their unleashed dogs. Some of them run through his yard and upset his dog. Quinn continued on to say, “If you are moving up here, you should do your research and know that Galbraith is here. There will be a lot of bikers.”

            When asked if Galbraith affected the value of property nearby, Kirk Ghio, a Muljat Realtor, replied, “It's been a selling point. Most of the homeowners there are attracted to the trails, so it has helped maintain value.”

            Galbraith is a special place to those who appreciate hiking or biking, according to Landu. “It’s a really unique set of trails. We are lucky to have this right here in Bellingham,” he said.

Originally owned by the Trillium Corporation, Galbraith Mountain is now owned by Polygon Financial Partners as of April 1, 2010. It is 3,125 acres, 1,400 of which are in the Lake Whatcom Watershed. The area includes a trail system created and maintained by the Whatcom Independent Mountain Pedalers. 

        

Accessing Galbraith Mountain

There are two main ways to access Galbraith Mountain, which includes an expansive network of trails located just south of the Bellingham city limits. The WHIMPs Mountain Bike Coalition manages the mountain biking trails.

The more stunt-oriented trails are better accessed by use of the primary entrance on the southern side of Galbraith. There is a dirt parking lot on Sammish Way, directly across Galbraith Lane, designated for users of the mountain. Galbraith Lane leads up to the trails.

If you are looking to explore the area, or ride the cross-country designed trails, head up to the northern entrance. At the end of Birch Street, there is a parking lot and trailhead for Galbraith. The Miranda Trail leads hikers and bikers to the trails within Galbraith. However, be aware that the parking lot is very small, so it very well may be full – especially on sunny days.

If the parking lot is full at the Birch Street entrance, the near by residents ask that hikers and bikers please park at Whatcom Falls Park and walk or bike back up to the trailhead. Parking along Birch Street is for residents and their guests only.

A map of Galbraith can be handy, especially for first time users. Fanatik Bike Company, a bike shop located on North State Street, sells up-to-date maps of the mountain.